This paper assesses South Africa’s massive infrastructure drive to revive growth and increase employment. After years of stagnant growth, this is now facing a deep economic crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This drive also comes after years of weak infrastructure investment, widening the infrastructure deficit. The plan outlines a R1 trillion investment drive, primarily from the private sector through the Infrastructure Fund over the next 10 years (Government of South Africa, 2020). This paper argues that while infrastructure development in South Africa is much-needed, the emphasis on de-risking for private sector buy-in overshadows the key role the state must play in leading on structurally transforming the economy.

This study considers the role of leadership within the hospitality sector as a key tool in raising performance levels. Hospitality is unique in its service-based approach, which relies on employees to ensure effective service. Post-COVID-19 and Brexit, the hospitality sector has seen a shift in reliance towards a home workforce, and as such, retention has become an area of greater importance. This case study investigation adopted a qualitative approach to consider the perceptions of six managers within a UK-based luxury hotel. Semi-structured interviews were used to draw out their experience of approaches used to ensure effective delivery in their areas of responsibility. The research concludes that a shift in leadership approach (from autocratic to democratic) is a necessity to retain staff, particularly as the shift to a greater reliance on a home workforce due to COVID-19 and Brexit starts to impact the sector. There does, however, remain a need to be more autocratic in certain situations to ensure the quality of service. Subsequently, communication becomes critical in the building of relationships. The research considers leadership approaches from a managerial perspective and is based on individual perceptions. Traditionally, research has been conducted from an employee perspective.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are mostly presented as a means to introduce efficient procurement methods and better value for money to taxpayers. However, the complexity of the PPP mechanism, their lack of transparency, accounting rules and implicit liabilities make it often impossible to perceive the amount of public expenditure involved and the long-run impact on taxpayers, providing room for fiscal illusion, i.e., the illusion that PPPs are much less expensive than traditional public investments. This psaper, thanks to a systematic review of the literature on the EU countries experience, tries to unveil the sources of this illusion by looking at the reasons behind the PPPs’ choice, their real costs, and the sources of fiscal risks. The literature suggests that PPPs are more costly than public funding, especially when contingent liabilities are not taken into account, and are employed as mechanisms to circumvent budgetary restrictions and to spend off-balance. The paper concludes that the public sector should share more risks with private sectors by reducing the amount of guarantees, and should prevent governments from operating through a sleight of hand that deflects attention away from off-balance financing, by applying a neutral fiscal recording system.

This study presents a simple yet informative bibliometric analysis of servant leadership literature, aiming to provide a basic overview of its scholarly landscape and identify general trends. We conducted this analysis in September 2023. We focused solely on the Scopus database to understand the current state of servant leadership research. Despite extensive search efforts, we found no similar bibliometric analyses within the servant leadership domain during our study period. Therefore, our focus is to present a brief and straightforward analysis of current research in this field based on identification trends over time, connection between co-occurrence of author keywords, most and less discussed keyword, and areas of high and low concentration. Our findings show an increase in scholarly publications, reflecting a growing acknowledgment of servant leadership’s relevance in management practices. Interconnected keywords and themes such as leadership, transformational leadership, job satisfaction, work engagement, authentic leadership, ethical leadership, organizational citizenship behavior, trust, and leadership development emerge prominently. Additionally, less-discussed keywords such as accountability, core self-evaluations, educational leadership, stewardship, customer orientation, and psychological well-being provide alternative perspectives on these research results. While acknowledging limitations inherent in our bibliometric research, such as potential publication bias and language restrictions, our study offers valuable insights for scholars and practitioners interested in this area.

In today's competitive and complex business environment, achieving business excellence requires a combination of effective methodologies and strong leadership to drive and sustain organizational transformation. Lean Six Sigma (LSS), a proven methodology for improving operational efficiency, relies on effective leadership for successful implementation and lasting impact. This study examines how the integration of Lean, Six Sigma, and Total Quality Management (TQM) shapes leadership strategies that enhance organizational agility, resilience, and responsiveness to market dynamics. It highlights the crucial role of leadership in fostering collaboration, optimizing resource utilization, and cultivating a culture of continuous improvement. The study introduces the Structured Lean Leadership Framework as a strategic tool to develop the leadership capabilities essential for LSS success, addressing challenges such as weak leadership commitment, resistance to change, and communication barriers. Through the application of the DMAIC framework, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Voice of Customer (VOC) analysis, the research aligns LSS with business objectives, customer needs, and sustainability goals. Additionally, it explores how combining LSS with Agile methodologies can improve operational efficiency, governance, and innovation, helping organizations better navigate future challenges. This research offers valuable insights for executives, practitioners, and researchers, supporting leadership development, data-driven decision-making, and long-term value creation. Future studies should focus on validating the Structured Lean Leadership Framework, exploring Agile-LSS integration in regulated industries, and examining the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on LSS and leadership.

This paper aims to explain the administrative and the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) of the Indonesian Spaceport Project in Biak, Papua, Indonesia, under the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) scheme, particularly from the protest to fear of environmental damage and traditional rights. This paper analyzes the factors that cause the local society’s reluctance to accept the development of Indonesia’s very first commercial spaceport. This paper uses a doctrinal methodology, which examines changes in the trend of ESG in implementing PPP projects. The method used is a qualitative systematic review of national and international studies. This paper finds that the lack of legal certainty for administrative and ESG as the main factor contributing to the pitfall of the PPP project in Biak Papua. No clear Government Contracting Agency (GCA), plus the fact that the Indonesian government puts too much weight on business consideration in PPP while Papuan people need more ESG, especially considering the historical conflict in the region, has been the epicenter of the problem. Given the ESG-PPP regulatory failure of spaceport development in Biak, more focused studies using comparative study methodology are needed to propose a more robust and customized ESG in PPP regulations in a politically and historically sensitive area. The authors forward a regulatory reform to balance administration, ESG, and business considerations in PPP projects for a spaceport.